Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM's speech at the inauguration of Garvi Gujarat Bhawan in New Delhi
Governor of Gujarat Acharya Devvrat ji, Governor of Uttar Pradesh and former Chief Minister of Gujarat Sister Anandi Ben, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani ji, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel ji and all the dignitaries, ladies and gentlemen present here.
I am looking many people after 12-15 years. There are also those who have spent their youth for Gujarat. Many retired officers can be seen who contributed a lot to Gujarat in their time, and consequently the lamp of Gujarat is giving out light.
So I am especially grateful to the Government of Gujarat that I got the opportunity to see you all. Cutting the ribbon of the building is secondary.
First of all, a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi to all of you. May the grace of Lord Ganesha be on the countrymen! May every resolution of nation building be accomplished! On this auspicious festival, my best wishes to all of you and the countrymen and especially to the people of Gujarat today.
And on Ganesha Chaturthi in the evening, after the completion of the 'Pratikramana' or introspection, we did carry out a very important task and in the Jain tradition it is the best ceremony 'Michhami Dukadam'. If you have hurt anyone by words or action, then this festival of forgiveness is considered as 'Michhami Dukadam'. So I wish the people of Gujarat, the people of the country, and now even the world, 'Michhami Dukadam'.
I am glad that we have gathered here to celebrate another Siddhi on the festival of Lord Siddhi Vinayak. Garvi Gujarat Sadan is ready to serve all of you in accordance with the feelings, tradition and culture of crores of people of Gujarat. I congratulate all of you, the people of Gujarat for the same.
You have just watched a film on Gujarat Bhawan, but I have just been there. A short while ago, we have got a glimpse of Gujarat culture here. And in a way, the artists have delivered great performances in a short time and less space.
Friends, after the Gujarat Bhavan, now the presence of the Garavi Gujarat Sadan will come in many different ways. I congratulate the friends associated with the construction of this building, who have constructed this magnificent building ahead of schedule.
The foundation stone was laid by the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister two years ago in September and today I have got the opportunity to inaugurate it in the beginning of September itself. I am happy that a habit of completing projects on time is developing in government institutions and government agencies.
And when I was in Gujarat, I used to say with conviction that I will inaugurate the project whose foundation stone has been laid by me. And there was no ego. Only public commitment was there. And because of that all my colleagues had to be engaged in these works. And we used to get results as well. And we not only have to adopt this work culture but also expand it at all levels.
This building may be a model of Mini Gujarat, but it is also a direct proof of our idea of a New India, wherein we talk about moving forward by dovetailing our cultural heritage and traditions with modernity. We want to stay connected to the roots and touch the sky.
And as described in this building, modern systems that are eco friendly, water harvesting, water-recycling facilities are also in full use, while on the other hand there is a depiction of Rani ki Vav. While there is arrangement for solar power generation, there is also a place for Modhera Sun Temple. Besides the modern technology of solid waste management, the Lippan art of Kutch has also been given a place in this building and there animal waste is given the shape of an art.
Brothers and sisters,
This building can certainly prove to be very important for Gujarat's art & craft and handicrafts as well as for promoting Gujarat's heritage tourism. It is very useful to have this type of facility in the capital of the country, where people and businessmen from all over the world keep visiting.
Similarly, the idea of using the Central Archaeum of the building for exhibitions based on Gujarati culture is also very laudable.
I would urge the Chief Minister that the arrangements for Gujarat tourism here should be strengthened further. Tourists from all over the country can connect with Gujarat through events such as cultural events and food festivals.
There was a time when the people of North India in particular did not like the food of Gujarat and used to say, "Oh man, Gujarati food is very sweet; you add sugar even in bitter gourd?" But these days, people ask, "Where will you find good Gujarati cuisine?" "Where do you get good Gujarati Thali? And the specialty of the people of Gujarat is that when they are in Gujarat, they do not cook on Saturday and Sunday evenings, and they go out and look for Italian, Mexican and South Indian dishes. But when they are outside Gujarat, they look for Gujarati dish. And here Khaman is also called Dhokla and Handwa is also called Dhokla. But they belong to the same family. Now if the people of Gujarat do good branding and deliver these things to the people in the right way, then people would know that Khaman, Dhokla and handwa are three different things.
In order to attract investment in Gujarat in the new building, new arrangements have been made for it to become an important centre for industries in Gujarat. And I am confident that with these facilities Indian and foreign investors desirous of investing in Gujarat will get more facilities.
Friends,
You can imagine that in such a scenario what would happen when people will sit in the modern dining hall of the house and have Dhokla, Fafda, Khandvi, Pudina Muthia, Mohanthal, Thepla Ho, Sev and Tomato Chaat. Once a journalist wanted to interview me. I was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat. And he had a habit of interviewing during breakfast and he used to interview while having breakfast. Well then the interview was good. I knew what to say and what not to say, and I knew more what not to say. But even after that, when he reported, he wrote - I went to Gujarat Bhavan and talked to the Chief Minister of Gujarat, but was disappointed that he did not offer Gujarati breakfast, instead offered South Indian. I would like no one to undergo the same situation now. The Gujarat Bhawan should have its own identity. People should come looking for it.
Gujarat has always attached importance to development, enterprise and labor. I have watched Gujarat's ardour for development as Chief Minister for almost a decade and a half. For the last 5 years I can see that Gujarat has accelerated its journey of development. Initially, Anandiben Patel gave a new energy and strength to the pace of development and later Rupani ji made many new efforts to touch new heights. The growth rate of Gujarat has been more than ten per cent in recent years.
Friends,
Since the formation of the BJP-led government at the Center and in the state, and the combined efforts of the two governments, many hurdles in the development of Gujarat have been removed. One such hurdle was against the Narmada Dam, and just now Vijay ji has mentioned about it a lot. Today we can see that as soon as the problem has been resolved, the water of Narmada is satiating the thirst of many villages of Gujarat and is benefiting the farmers.
Friends,
With the growing pace of the two schemes like the SAUNI Yojana and Sujalam-Sufalam scheme, today lakhs of families of Gujarat are getting benefitted. Availability of water in Gujarat is being ensured.
And I am glad that Gujarat has mastered over both water harvesting as well as the campaign to deliver water from village to village. It has accomplished it in systematic way and it also involves participation of its citizens. This has been possible through public participation. And with such efforts, we will be successful in delivering water to every household of the country by 2024.
Besides irrigation, unprecedented investments are also being made in the other sectors of infrastructure in Gujarat during the last five years and the pace of these infrastructure projects has also increased. Many projects of modern infrastructure including metro in Ahmedabad have been completed rapidly. The airports of Baroda, Rajkot, Surat and Ahmedabad have been modernized. Besides this, Dholera Airport and Expressway were approved in Dwarka. As Vijay ji was saying, a bridge was being constructed in Dwarka. Similarly, Railway University, Maritime museum, Marine police academy, Gandhi museum, and many such works, have been carried out in Gujarat in these five years. The Statue of Unity has helped India bring more glory in the Tourist map of the world. Renowned magazines of the world, especially those associated with the tourism sector, discuss the Statue of Unity. And I was reading just a few days ago, and I was happy that on the day of Janmashtami, 34000 people had come to see the Statue of Unity, Sardar Saheb. The arrival of 34000 people in a day is a big thing in itself.
Gujarat has also done a commendable job in providing facilities to the common man and to make their health better. In the last 5-6 years, there has been more rapid work in the medical infrastructure in Gujarat. A network of modern hospitals and medical colleges is being laid in many parts of the state including Ahmedabad. As a result, youth are getting medical education and employment opportunities in Gujarat itself.
Besides health, Gujarat has also been far ahead in implementing the Ujjwala scheme and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. This campaign to make the lives of the people of Gujarat easier, we have to give more momentum to the furthering of Ease of Living.
The cultural, social and economic strength of every state of India makes it great and strong. Therefore, we have to recognize the strengths of every part of the country, every state, and push it forward. They have to be given opportunities at national and global stage. With this common strength, we will be able to accomplish the resolutions that have been set for the coming five years.
There are buildings and bhavans of almost every state in Delhi. These should not be confined merely in the form of guest houses; it should be kept in mind. These Houses of States should be truly representative of the brand of the States in Delhi, communicating with the country and the world, and it is necessary to work for it. Work should also be done to turn these bhavans into centers of tourism and trade.
There are many states in the country which are a little far away in terms of connectivity. Sometimes it takes a lot of time for the business leaders and entrepreneurs from India and abroad to go there from Delhi. When the time is short, it is very useful to have the business centers of that state in the capital of the country to showcase its culture, art and craft.
From Jammu and Kashmir to Leh-Ladakh to the North East, from the tribal regions of the Vindhyas to the maritime expanse of the South, we have much to share with the country and offer to the world. Now we have to increase our activity to promote it. In such a situation, there should be such an arrangement in the state buildings or bhavans so that anyone can go there and get answers to all the questions ranging from tourism to investment.
I once again congratulate you all very much for Garvi Gujarat. And I hope while tasting the cuisine of Gujarat, it must be kept in mind that we have to liberate the country from single-use plastic. I believe that in this mission too, Garvi Gujarat Sadan will set an example.
Once again congratulations to all of you for this new building and my best wishes. And it's good to see a lot of people from the mission here. So, we should keep inviting the people of the mission to Gujarat Bhavan from time to time, then your business will grow automatically. So this should be done.
Thank you very much and best wishes!